Contact printing devices



Nov. 14, 1967 w. SALGER CONTACT PRINTING DEVICES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 17, 1965 Nov. 14, 1967 Filed March 17, 1965 W. SALGER CONTACT PRINTING DEVICES 4 sheets sheet 2 Nov. 14, 1967 w. SA-LGER 3,352,222

CONTACT PRINTING DEVICES Filed March 17, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 lnv ntor: WM)

Filed March 17, 1965 Nov. 14, 1967 I W.SALGER 3,352,222

CONTACT PRINTING DEVICES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 lnvntor WM g I flZzZiAy/ United States Patent 3,352,222 CONTACT PRINTING DEVICES Werner Salger, Hamburg-Langenhorn, Germany,

to Werner Zindler, Hamburg, Germany Filed Mar. 17, Claims priority,

assignor trading as Lumoprint Zindler KG,

1965, Ser. No. 440,541 application Germany, Mar. 28, 1964,

8 Claims. a. 9s 73 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In such surface exposure devices light sources, for example, are provided as sources of radiation disposed on the side of the casing surface remote from the contact cover. These sources of radiation may alternatively be sources of thermal radiation if, for example, copying materials which are selectively sensitive to heat are used. The term surface exposure device is also used to include devices incorporating these thermal radiation sources since the process which is effected by the thermal radiation corresponds to the exposure process which is effected in the case of light-sensitive photographic paper. By this process, in the case of heat-sensitive papers, the developing and/ or fixing of the paper can be included at the same time.

In general, glass is used as the contact surface. However, the present invention also includes the use of other materials, the actual material depending upon the type of radiation source which is being used.

In one embodiment, the present invention is based upon an already proposed surface exposure device which is described in German patent application L 45,477. In the surface exposure device which is the subject of this earlier application, the contact cover can be raised and lowered by means of hinges which are themselves adjustable as to height in a guide in opposition to the effect of a spring. Thus, originals of different thicknesses can be accomcharacterised by its simplicity of construction makes possible a particularly Simple manual operation in which the movement of the cover towards its contacting position automatically effects this adaptation or compensation for the form and thickness of the original.

According to this known device, the hinges are arranged on support tubes which are movable in tubular guides. The spring thus grips through the support tube so that it can be made of considerable length. The tubular guide has the advantage of being positioned laterally from of being a comparatively large distance away from the contact surface, i.e. this being advantageous in the copying of comparatively thick originals.

The manual operation of this known surface exposure device is however comparatively limited, since because of the linkage connection between the cover and the casing of the exposure device one side of the arrangement is always closed for all practical purposes. This closed side therefore does not permit the edge of the original to overlap the device. Consequently it has been the practice heretofore to manufacture such surface exposure devices with an extremely large contact surface in order to accommodate originals of different sizes. The means of illumination or radiation have therefore had to be positioned to cover the whole of the contact avoided, to be particularly disadvantageous in ofiices and the like. While such establishments usually deal of the means which are employed. In spite of this expense however, the range of use is still limited.

In another known form of surface exposure device, for use particularly in the copying of books, surfaces which are provided on which the two covers of the book can be rested. Such a form of device requires special expense with regard to the manuenables copies to be produced from larger size originals folding, bending or the like. This object is effected according to the present inven- Thus, in an advantageous form of the device, the hinges are arranged to be retractable in associated guide-ways manually.

According to a which is pivotally supported under the action of the springs is associated associated therewith. This has simultaneously the advantage that the hinge cover is raised a considerable distance above the contact surface, the springs provided for resiliently guiding the contact cover become stressed so that they not only hold the hinges closed, but also provide for this adaptation with increased force as well. A particularly advantageous feature of the invention is provided by this combination.

Preferably, the hinge element is arranged as a doublearmed pivotable lever in a guide-way for the hinge. In this connection, the hinge element is preferably formed as a bell-crank lever whose one part acts as a double-armed lever which is supported at its central region and on whose one end the spring grips, while the other end carries the other part of the bell-crank lever which is formed as a hooked spur.

It should be noted that the link members of the contact cover preferably include pins which can be pushed into the hinges. These pins are preferably arranged on bowshaped supports which project downwardly beyond the pressure surface. By using tubular guide-ways for the hinges, a further preferred embodiment of the present invention is provided in which these tubular guide-ways each have at their upper ends an enlarged portion extending parallel to the link member axis, this enlargement receiving a pivot shaft for the hinge element. This pivot shaft projects laterally through a support tube which is movable in the guide-ways and which carries the hinge at its upper end, and determines the lowest position of the hinge at the bottom of the enlarged portion. The enlarged portion may also receive bracket supports for the link pins on the contact cover in order to permit satisfactory positioning of the contact cover for fiat originals.

The present invention also includes an embodiment in which after release of the contact cover the hinges are retracted into the tubular guide-ways, and in which supports for the link pins are provided on the side edge of the contact cover above the pressure surface, so that there is no obstacle to the manual operation of the contact cover on the pressure surface. By using bracket supports on the contact cover which project downwardly beyond the pressure surface an advantageous embodiment of the invention is provided in which the supports are arranged on one longitudinal edge of the contact cover and in which the released cover is rotatable, whereby these supports act as abutments on the contact surface or on the casing of the device.

It will be seen that the cover can be provided with a hand grip in known manner for easy manipulation, especially after release of the cover from the casing of the surface exposure device, this hand grip preferably being provided in the central region of the contact cover.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, certain embodiments thereof will now be described in detail by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective exploded view of a simple embodiment of contact printing device according to the present invention;

FIGURE 1a is an enlarged view of part of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 2 is a partial rear view, partly in section, of a preferred embodiment of contact cover linkage;

FIGURE 3 is a side view, partly in section, of a device embodying the features of FIGURE 2, only part of the device being shown and the cover being shown as removed.

FIGURE 4 is a side view of the device of FIGS. 2 and 3 with the released contact cover in a position before it is brought into engagement with the hinges; and,

FIGURE 5 is a side view corresponding to FIGURE 4, in which the released contact cover has been rotated through 180 and has been lowered on to the contact surface, the outline of a large size original being indicated by a broken line.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a surface exposure device having a box-shape casing 1 in which sources of radiation (not shown) are arranged. The top side of the casing 1 is formed as a contact surface 2 which is permeable to radiation. On one longitudinal side wall 3 of the casing are arranged tubular guide-ways 4, 5 which terminate a short distance below the relevant edge 6 of the contact surface 2. Tension springs 7, 8 which carry hinges 9, 10* in the form of spring clips at their upper ends are disposed in these guide-ways 4, 5. The hinges 9, 10 are sufficiently wide that they are prevented from being drawn down into the tubular guide-ways 4, 5', and are arranged so that in one position the upper edges of the hinges lie below the edge of the contact surface 2. The tension springs 7, 8 are secured adjacent to the bottom of the guide-ways 4 5 by providing them with cross-bars 49, 50' which are anchored in the guide-ways.

The hinges 9*, 10 can be constructed with support tubes 11, 12 in order to retain a certain lateral movement in the tubular guide-ways. The spring clips themselves (see FIG. la) each comprise a comparatively rigid member 13 and a resilient pivotable snap member 14 which upon pressure from above opens to make way for a pin-type link member 15, 16 secured to a contact cover 17.

This contact cover 17 has the same dimensions as the contact surface 2. The bow-shaped or bail-like link members 19, 20' which include the pins 15, 16 respectively as a part thereof project from one longitudinal side surface 18 of the contact cover 17. The bow-shaped link members 19, 20 lie in the plane of the contact cover.

The contact cover 17 is shown in FIG. 1 in full lines in its released state. It is thus rotatable or displaceable over the contact surface 2 in any arbitrary manner. Since the hinges 9, 10' lie beneath the contact surface 2 and since the link members 19, 20 lie in the plane of the contact cover, although extending beyond the side of the contact cover, it can be seen that an original which is to be copied can be placed on the contact surface 2 without hindrance.

If it is desired to bring the link member 19, 20 into engagement with the hinges 9, 10, then the contact cover 17 is moved into the position indicated by the broken lines 21' in FIG. 1 so that it can move past the side wall 3 of the casing and so that the pins 15, 16 can be pressed into the spring-clip type hinges 9, 10. If now, the contact cover 17 is pivoted into the position shown in full lines in FIG. 1, the hinges 9, 10 are automatically raised from the guide-ways 4, 5 to the required height. Thus, the edge 22 of the contact cover can ride on the adjacent edge of the contact surface 2. The support tubes 11, 12 thereby ensure suflicient lateral guidance.

Referring now to FIG. 2, this shows a section through the casing of a contact printing device with the rear wall 23 corresponding to the side wall 3 of FIG. 1. A tubular guide-way 24 is disposed inside this rear wall 23 and is separated from the inner compartment of the casing by a dividing wall 24'. Within the casing is arranged a source of radiation 25 and above it the contact surface 26 corresponding to the contact surface 2 in FIG. 1.

A support tube 27 of considerable length is disposed the tubular guide-way 24, and in this embodiment the support tube is not completely closed. At the lower end of the guide-Way 24 is located a hook 28 for securing one end of a comparatively long tension spring 29 which extends up through the support tube 27 which is open on one side. At the top of the tube the spring 2-9 is attached to a hinge element indicated generally by refer ence numeral 30. This hinge element 30 is pivotable about a hinge shaft 31 which is mounted in the support tube 27. The hinge shaft 31 is preferably of such a length that it projects, as shown in FIG. 3, laterally from the support tube.

The suppoit tube 27 extends upwardly on its closed side to form a rigid hinge member 32. The hinge element 30 is formed as a bell-crank lever. In the central region or its one wing portion 33 the bell-crank lever is provided 'with a bearing aperture for the hinge shaft 31. free "end of the double-armed lever so formed by the wing portion 33 and the central shaft 31 is provided with an aperture 34 which serves as a point of attachment for the spring 29. The other end of the doublearmed lever carries a hooked spur 35 which has a projecting portion 36 at the top. This projecting portion 36 rests against the hinge member 32. The projecting portion 36 has an inclined surface 37 which extends down from the apex of the portion to the hinge member 32. This inclined surface 37 has the effect that the hinge element 30 is pivoted in a clockwise sense when a link pin 38 on the cont-act cover which is indicated generally at 3-9 is pressed down against the hinge.

The underside of the projecting portion 36 extends substantially horizontally in the closed position of the hinge. In this manner, the link pin 38 is securely retained since the spring 29 holds the hinge element 30 in its closed position.

The link pin 38 is mounted on the contact cover 39 (see also FIG. 3) in brackets 40, 41 which, as shown particularly in FIG. 2, project beyond the pressure surface 42 of the contact cover 39.

In the hinged-open position of the contact cover as shown in FIG. 2, the hinge element 30, and in particular the apex of the projecting portion 36, is accessible, so that the spring clip forming the hinge can easily be opened and so that the contact cover 39 can then be raised clear of the hinge.

It will thus be apparent that this spring clip is automatically opened if the link pin 38 is pressed down against the inclined surface 37 and that the link pin 38 then snaps into the spring clip.

Referring now to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the tubular guide-way 24, which in this embodiment is shown on the opposite side of the casing as compared with FIG. 1, is separated from the inner compartment of the casing by the dividing wall 24. The tubular guide-way 24 is provided at the top with an enlarged portion 42 extending parallel to the adjacent side wall of the casing. The portions of the hinge shaft 31 which project laterally outwards from the support tube 27 are arranged to extend into this enlarged portion of the guide-way and the lowest position of the support tube 27 is thus determined by the striking of the shaft portions against the bottom of the enlarged portion. The enlarged portion 42 is so much wider than the support tube 27 that the brackets 40, 41 can be inserted into the enlarged portion so that one bracket lies on each side of the support tube or of the hinge member 32 (FIG. 2) which forms part of the support tube. Thus, the conditions for a satisfactory positioning of the contact cover 39 on the contact surface are created by the provision of the link and hinge connection.

It will be apparent that with the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-3 the support tubes can be lifted in the tubular guide-ways with resultant tensioning of the springs 7, 8 or 29 if the contact cover is pressed on to a thick original.

FIG. 4 shows a casing 1 on which an adjusting means 43 is provided for controlling the source of radiation. Above the casing in released relation thereto is a contact cover 44. This contact cover has a hand grip 45 provided for example, in the central region thereof. The contact cover 44 is indicated in a position before it is brought into gripping engagement with the hinge. The hinge member 32 and the hinge element 30 with its projecting portion 36 can also be seen. The bracket 41 is visible. on the contact cover 44 and this bracket 41 is provided with an aperture through which the link pin 38 passes. If the contact cover 44 is pressed down in the 47, 48 on both 6 position indicated, then the hinge element 30 will be pivoted in a clockwise sense through the wedge action of the inclined surface 37, i.e., to the right in FIG. 4, so that the link pin 38 snaps home under the projecting portion 36.

In the arrangement shown in FIG. 5, the contact cover 44 has been rotated through from the position shown in FIG. 4. The bracket 41' is located on the righthand side adjacent to the rear wall of the casing, while the side edge 46 of the contact cover lies in front of the hinge element 30 and at a distance therefrom. An original held between the contact surface 26 and the contact cover 44 may thus extend as shown by the broken lines sides of the contact surface under the bracket 41' and/or over the hinge and hinge element 30 without the Iclaimz.

1. A surface exposure device for use in contact printing which comprises, in combination, a housing having a base and side walls having upper edges, a radiationsurface mounted upon said upper edges of said side walls, radiation-emitting means disposed in said housing below said contact surface, hinge means mounted on one of said side walls, a contact cover pivotally mounted in said hinge means in such a said contact cover is released from said hinge means and can be removed from said housing.

2. A device as in claim 1, in which several hinge means are mounted on said side walls, said hinge means eleextending parallel to the plane of a pressure surface defined on said cover, said elements of said spring clips defining a slot accessible from above into which said link pins can be pressed due to resilience of said elements and from which said link pins can be withdrawn.

3. A surface exposure device as in claim 1, a pair of elongated hinge guide-ways mounted on said housing substantially perpendicular to said contact surface, a hinge support movably mounted in each of said guideways, one of said hinge means elements being rigidly fixed on said support being resiliently mounted on said support and biased toward engagement with said rigidly fixed element.

4. A surface exposure device as in claim 1, wherein one of said hinge means elements is pivotally mounted with respect to the other hinge means element, a spring biasing said one element toward engagement with said other element, an upwardly inclined surface defined on at least one of said hinge means elements, and link pins mounted on said contact cover extending parallel to the plane of said contact cover, engagement of a link pin with an inclined surface automatically springing apart said hinge means elements upon downward pressure of such link pin upon an inclined surface.

5. A surface exposure device for use in contact printing which comprises, in combination, a housing having a base and side walls having upper edges, a radiation-permeable contact surface mounted upon said upper edges of said side walls, radiation-emitting means disposed in said housing below said contact surface, an elongated hinge guide-way mounted on said housing having an axis substantially perpendicular to said contact surface, a hinge support movably mounted in said guide-way for movement toward and away from the plane of said contact surface, hinge means mounted on said hinge support, a

contact cover adapted to be pivotally connected to said hinge means and spring means biasing said hinge support in a direction to bias said contact cover toward said contact surface.

6. A surface exposure device as in claim 5, an abut ment defined on said guide-way selectively positioning said hinge means below the plane of said contact surface, said spring being located in said guide-way and anchored at one end below the plane of said contact surface, at least one bow-shaped link member defined on said contact cover extending in the plane of the contact cover and including a link pin extending parallel to the plane of the contact cover for releasable engagement with said hinge means.

7. A surface exposure device as in claim 5, said hinge means consisting of a rigid hinge member and a hinge element pivotable relative thereto, said hinge element comprising a double-armed pivot lever, said spring being attached to said doublearmed pivot lever and biasing said hinge element resiliently against the associated hinge member.

8. A surface exposure device as in claim 5, in which said guide-Way comprises a tubular element, said hinge support comprising a support tube which is movable in said tubular element, said spring being guided through said support tube in said tubular element, said tubular element having an enlarged portion at its upper end adjacent said contact surface, a :pivot shaft defined in said hinge means projecting laterally through said support tube and engaging in said enlarged portion determining the lowest position of said hinge means, and support means defined on said cover adapted to extend into said enlarged portion upon said cover being pivotally connected to said hinge means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,183,815 5/1965 Kapany et al. 95-73 NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner. R. A. WINTERCORN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SURFACE EXPOSURE DEVICE FOR USE IN CONTACT PRINTING WHICH COMPRISES, IN COMBINATION, A HOUSING HAVING A BASE AND SIDE WALL HAVING UPPER EDGES, A RADIATIONPERMEABLE CONTACT SURFACE MOUNTED UPON SAID UPPER EDGES OF SAID SIDE WALLS, RADIATION-EMITTING MEANS DISPOSED IN SAID HOUSING BELOW SAID CONTACT SURFACE, HINGE MEANS MOUNTED ON ONE OF SAID SIDE WALLS, A CONTACT COVER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED IN SAID HINGE MEANS IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO BE ABLE TO PRESS A COPY SHEET AND AN ORIGINAL ONTO ONE ANOTHER ON SAID CONTACT SURFACE, SAID HINGE MEANS INCLUDING A PAIR OF RELATIVELY MOVABLE ELEMENTS ADAPTED TO SELECTIVELY GRASP SAID COVER IN A PIVOTAL CONNECTION AND PERMIT SAID COVER TO BE REMOVED FROM SAID HINGE MEANS UPON SEPARATING SAID ELEMENTS WHEREUPON SAID CONTACT COVER IS RELEASED FROM SAID HINGE MEANS AND CAN BE REMOVED FROM SAID HOUSING. 